Day 25: Patrick’s Point State Park to Fortuna, CA

Day 25: Patrick’s Point State Park to Fortuna, CA

Miles: 55

What I rode by: squirrels, surfers, farmland, police bust in Eureka, Loleta cheese factory

Today was a long day. It started at sunrise with two young squirrels chasing and squawking at each other, up and down the trees surrounding our tent. I’m certain this continued after we left. They were cute but noisy.

Early in the day we had coffee in Trinidad where we saw Sarah and Jasper again, and came across about a dozen local cyclists who admired our recumbent bicycles.

We approached Arcata on a five-mile long bike trail that ran parallel between Hwy 101 and the ocean. This took us past a biker gang, sand dunes, farmland, and even over an old bridge. It was nice to be off the highway and wandering through little places like Smith River. That’s been an interesting aspect of our trip. Our bike maps navigate us through widely diverse parts of the country – sometimes taking us through sparsely populated areas where you have to wonder what the people do for a living because they are so remote, and sometimes through obviously expensive beachfront homes. Two ends of the socio-economic spectrum. Riding through Eureka took us through the low side of that spectrum.

After Eureka, it was 20 long and windy miles to Kristen’s dad’s house in Fortuna.

Pink building in the little town of Smith River

On our route through Eureka

Colorful Eureka